Note-A-Bulls: Isaiah Thomas leads Celtics to 104-95 win at the UC to even series

I feel sorry for any Bulls fans that thought a 2-0 lead coming back to the United Center meant anything. For the fourth time in as many games this series, the road team has come away with a victory. Tonight’s final score: Boston 104, Chicago 95. With the shocking loss of Isaiah Thomas’ younger sister Chyna prior to Game 1, the Celtics were dealt a difficult blow, and the Bulls were gifted a head start in the series race, as the Boston squad struggled to figure out how to cope with their team’s leader suffering mentally and emotionally. But the two days off heading to Chicago did wonders for the Celtics, and now, the discrepancy between these two teams both in talent and cohesion is starting to show: the Celtics won two convincing games in Chicago to even up the series and regain home court advantage.

Jimmy Butler is trying to do it all on his own — God knows he’s not getting any help. Check it out: 45 minutes (out of 48!), 33 points, 19-23 from the charity stripe, five rebounds, nine assists, and a steal. He couldn’t find his shot from three point range tonight, missing all three of his attempts, and the Bulls could’ve used it. Butler kept the Bulls in the game, but the Celtics were just too much.

I never thought I’d say this, but the Bulls miss Rajon Rondo. He’s been super sub-par, bordering on terrible the entire year, but in the first two games of the series he was a rockstar. It’s like a switch flipped in his head and he decided he wasn’t allowed or supposed to be awful anymore. But Rondo has been sidelined for two games (inj, hand), and the Bulls are suffering for it. They’ve been playing their best (worst?) version of YMCA hero-ball trying to figure out who’s going to take the 1-on-1 matchup this time down the court.

Speaking of Wade (^^ duh), he was worse than a non-factor tonight; he was a hindrance. He had a whopping 37 minutes of court time, but only had 11 points off 12 shots, and six rebounds to show for it. Honestly, sometimes I forget he’s out there. There was a time when a Wade breakaway was not only a bucket-certainty, but just a matter of how high up the SC Top 10 it was going to climb. Tonight, no such luck. One noteworthy fast break resulted in a Wade missed layup and Boston coming back the other way with numbers.

Nikola Mirotic and Isaiah Canaan each put up 13 points. Canaan hit three shots from beyond the arc and finished with +11 in 34 minutes, getting more usage with Rondo out. Worth noting: Rondo was fined by the NBA for attempting to trip Jae Crowder in Game 3 (smh).

For the second time in two games, the Bulls dug an early 20 point deficit, erased it by storming back to get into the game, only to fall by double digits in the end. It was sparked when the Celtics led 41-21 early in the second quarter: Canaan stole the ball from Marcus Smart and took it down for a layup. In a weird series of events, Smart faked throwing the ball at Butler, the two got up close and personal, resulting in technical fouls for both players, and the Bulls started to catch fire. Sometimes it takes something strange to change the momentum. It’s unsurprising, though: the NBA is a game of runs, and when you get down a bunch, it’s expected that the team with the deficit will make it interesting. The Bulls did just that, but could never get over the hump and take any meaningful lead. Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics found ways to close the door on any hope pretty quickly.

A note about Isaiah Thomas: he’s back doing what he does best: attacking, driving, dishing, leading, and playmaking. In Game 4, he dominated the stats sheet: in 35 minutes, Thomas drained 10 buckets off 21 shots, added 12 free throws for 33 points, seven assists, and a steal to boot. He had a massive +17 during his time on the floor, by far the best mark of anyone on either team. He says he’s not really in the game, so if that’s true, his teammates are helping him do a phenomenal job playing pretend. He and Celtics share the ball beautifully and get great looks. The Bulls should take note.

Up Next: Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday. The team that wins Game 5 when the series is knotted at 2-2 goes on to win the series over 80% of the time. Game on.